“Another tea from the BBBB, this one courtesy of *Sil*. I was super excited to see this sample in the box as it was one I had read about on Silk Road's website and wanted to try it. It is a nice...”
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From Silk Road

ANTARCTICEXPEDITIONTEA

Share a cup of history.

This robust, invigorating black tea blend is a re-creation of the tea enjoyed by the British Antarctic Expedition in the quest to be the first to reach the South Pole in 1911-1912. Captain Scott requested a strong blend of black tea be created for the expedition, which was intended to fortify the team during the journey, and ANTARCTICEXPEDITIONTEA reproduces this lively, historic combination.

The expedition’s staple daily ration of tea per man was 0.7 ounces (20 g), and provided a much-needed way to uplift and comfort the spirits in the frozen Antarctic.

ANTARCTICEXPEDITIONTEA is an exclusive, limited edition blend that allows you to truly step back in time, whenever you sip a cup of this warming brew. It’s delightful as a breakfast tea, or an all-day reviver – anytime you need a pick-me-up!

Cavo, I finally dumped the last of my peach oolong, which was old enough to be considered a good puehr, if it has been aged properly…& was made by the right people…with the right tea…uh….sorry, I just woke up…from some crazy bizarre dreams…
Anyway, it now resides in my compost pile, where it will become an amazing shu, of sorts, for my garden, & when it rains, it will create a different kind of tea, & my plants will love it!

Terri – I bet that felt great just letting it go. :P There might be a tea or two that I need to just get rid of due to age but I’ll give them all a last cup just to be sure. But I don’t want to hold on to tea that I don’t enjoy and will never drink either (if it’s stuff that won’t make a good freebie).

Sil – that’s a great goal. One year should be even enough to get through a tin of my Damn Fine Tea’s. The really OCD part of my brain wants to go through my old email receipts so that I can backfill the order dates on my spreadsheet for my older teas. :P

lol i’m just adding in a general month/year to my spreadsheet…the cupboard does a decent job, but only if i remember to take teas out, before adding in the restock of a tea i reordered. I’ve also started to write the month on the teas in my cupboard as i get them so i see it as soon as i open my cupboard. :)

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Why am I awake so early on a Saturday morning? …yawn…
Because Tony & his best friend Deer Hunter Dan are going to Cabela’s.
It’s bow hunting season, & Dan decided his 20 year old bow needs to be replaced. I was gonna loll around in bed alone, but I figured I might as well get up, work on my nanowrimo novel for a couple hours, treat myself to brekkie, & then I have a client coming at 2:00 to plan a wedding.

So I’m sitting here, bleary eyed, yawning, with bed-head, and the final cup of this tea, Sil’s contribution to the BBBB. It’s bold, with an almost coffee-like bass note. It is also fairly astringent, & this morning I can almost hear a trumpet playing revely in the frozen campground of my mind. I can also feel the caffeine rising in my bloodstream. Sipdown! I’d like to get down to 200 teas by the end of the weekend.

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Another tea from the BBBB, this one courtesy of Sil. I was super excited to see this sample in the box as it was one I had read about on Silk Road’s website and wanted to try it. It is a nice black blend. There’s the faintest hint of orange or bergamot in it that I didn’t expect nor really want, but it didn’t put me off too much like most earl grays do. I got a couple good steeps out of it too. I don’t think I’ll order any, but I still have some more to play with that I will enjoy. Thanks Sil!

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Sipdown, 139. Thanks to Sil for this sample. The history behind this one is pretty cool so I am interested to try it.

I have read tasting notes on this one that say it is “bold” and a little rough around the edges. I would imagine that is what you need when exploring the antarctic. I knew I would likely prefer this one with milk and sugar, but I didn’t want to try this one only with milk and sugar. So I brewed it two ways: one straight, and one with additions.

I also brewed it a bit cooler. Straight it’s not as rough as I thought it would be, but it does have a hint of bitterness/astringency around the edges. With additions, it’s a reasonable black tea but nothing that really jumps out at me. I mean, I guess that’s what it is, a sturdy black tea. But if I were exploring the antarctic today, I would bring a slightly more interesting tea with me. :)

Preparation

I like the part in the description for this tea that talks about the daily ration of tea for men on the expedition was 0.7 oz or 20 g. There are days where I certainly drink much more than that and I am not in the frozen expanse of the Antarctic.

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This is another sample that Sil generously sent me. Thank you for sharing.

I don’t like this. Maybe it’s just too fussy for work, but it’s too strong, too bold. I don’t need to be hit over the head. I think it’s bitter and astringent. Thanks Sil but I’m really happy you only send me a little of this. Others may like it, to each their own, but this isn’t for me.

Edit I’ve re thought my opinion on this. Drank 2 more steeps of it in the afternoon. It actually got better the more I steeped it. It was just over powering on the first steep but did mellow out with in later ones. I still think there are much better blacks (for my taste) out there, but this might not be as bad as I initially thought.

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Interesting to try this tea, but I didn’t guess I’d be a big fan, and I was right. It’s bold and brisk (as would be expected from a tea intended for an antarctic expedition), and although my mug of it is not astringent, I prefer a bit of a smoother, mellower body. Taste-wise, I’m getting a mouthful of malt, and maybe a hint of chocolate, so it’s actually a profile I find reasonable, it’s just a little too bold and plain. Probably good with milk, though :)